I did it, again!

I know there are people who do miraculous things every day without even thinking about it. Doctor's save lives, teachers change lives, farmers feed us - the list goes on.

So in the big scheme of things, raising my hand with a numbered piece of paper at an auction really isn't earth shattering...but for my simple life, its a challenge I'm happy I met.
My Aunt Joan and I were just going to stop at Wehrly's Auction for a quick visit, maybe a cup of homemade soup and poke around the tables and boxes and see what goodies were going up for bid. Turned out there was a lot of great stuff and both of us were just curious enough to see how much some of these items were going to go for, so we decided to get a number and stay awhile.

Neither of us were sure we wanted to bid on anything, most of the items we liked were very collectible and there were a lot of dealers in the room, so we figured the bids were going to be a little rich for our blood. But since both of us have etsy.com shops that need inventory, we decided it was a needed learning experience - not to mention entertaining.

We went back and forth between the room with the tools and box lots...this is where I did raise my hand and purchased this adorable Cosco stool (much to the surprise of the woman next to me who had bid on it also and didn't think anyone else really wanted it - but I did)...and the room with the higher-end collectible items. I did raise my hand again in that room too and bought this antique blue mason jar made in 1858. Couldn't pass it up.

It was almost like my hand had a will of its own. The auctioneer was doing his hundred-mile-an-hour rattling of numbers and some remote part of my brain registered that I wanted the jar and the price was very good, and the next thing I knew my hand was up and the auctioneer was pointing to me and saying "sold." Yay me.

And when they were selling box lots for a dollar, but I was feeling shy about elbowing my way into the crowd to get an old vanity mirror I'd spotted, my aunt grabbed my number and was kind enough to go up to the table and stake a claim on it for me. Yay Aunt Joan.
So my afternoon was spent having a hot dog with my aunt and two of her friends she ran into at the auction - both also are artisans and antique dealers (super interesting people, great conversations) -- purchased three nice items for my etsy.com site, and conquered my fear of the auction once and for all. May not have performed brain surgery or saved the world, but not a bad day at all.


twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Floating Vintage

This past Easter weekend I was lucky enough to spend in one of my favorite places on the planet, in Maryland at my aunt and uncle's farm near Chestertown. I love it so much, it is the inspiration for my first published novel Lake Meade.

My weekend was filled with egg dying, catching up with family and too much ham and mashed potatoes, so any thoughts of going to yard sales or thrift stores was put on hold. Ironically, I stayed in a house filled with beautiful antiques, passed down for generations, so thinking about buying and selling vintage items was put aside only with some difficulty.Easter morning my family and I went for a walk around a local marina, taking in the scenery and the mix of new and old boats moored to the warping, wooden piers. My husband and I fantasized about how nice it would be to have a boat to go out on the Chesapeake, and true to form, we liked the old ones more than the shiny new ones. The one pictured above was for sale...but we didn't call to ask how much, because we also realized boats require a lot more disposable income than we've got in the old piggy bank.But it was still fun to dream about taking one of these lovely old ladies to explore the bay and drift away a sunny afternoon.So whether china, linens, glassware...or even boats...I love the older things with charater and charm. Things that look like they have some stories to tell and have weathered a few storms. Come to think of it, the same qualities I enjoy in people, too :-)

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/

Really?

I have had my etsy.com shop now since July 2010 - so for 9-months and 329 sales (as of today) -- and here are some of the things I've learned so far.


Not a very sexy or fun part of the business, but not estimating shipping well will kill you. If you put the cost too high on something, it will stop people from buying it. But if you put it too low, you may end up loosing a sizable portion of your profit. I even have a better handle on when to go to FedEx and when to go USPS.

In the beginning of this venture, just finding boxes for shipping was a pain, but even that has become easier. I know the spots where a couple stores put their boxes once they've emptied them from deliveries. They don't mind me taking them at all, it saves them the time and effort of preparing them for recycling.

I have a better idea of the best days and places for going to yard sales, too. And the day my favorite thrift store gets in new merchandise...these are very useful pieces of information for finding things for the shop.

I also think I have developed a better eye for what will sell, although I am still flabbergasted sometimes at what sells quicker than others.

This mirror is a good example. I knew enough to get it when I found it in a church basement charity shop, but thought it would probably languish for a bit - this is an unusual piece, not everyone's cup-of-tea. So I was surprised when it wasn't even in my shop a week before it sold.
On the same day I found this mirror, I also found two matching white chenille bedspreads for two single-beds. They are so pretty, I would have sworn they'd go first.

Maybe this will always allude me because it has more to do with timing and chance...that particular person was looking for that kind of item, and they happened to find mine that day...than anything more predictable.

When I hit the year mark in July, I will have too look back again and try to understand the rhyme or reason for what sells quickly and what doesn't. Or maybe accept that sometimes there just isn't any.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Etsy Treasuries

If you have not explored the Etsy.com site yet, you gotta. I am continually amazed at the things people can create.

One of the fun ways to see all the different kinds of things etsy.com has to offer, is to explore the "Treasuries." These are themed collages of items for sale, created by etsy members.

This is a list of the treasuries I've created (click on the title to see the full collage)...

http://www.etsy.com/people/hmmosko/treasury?sort=creation_date&order=desc

Once you start exploring the wares for sale on etsy and realize the beautiful things you can buy directly from the artists, you will find yourself going back again and again. Enjoy!

Abbotstown with Joan

A large part of my days are spent in solitary pursuits: food shopping, writing, laundry, putting inventory on-line in my etsy shop, packing purchased items to be shipped off, housecleaning...you get the picture. And this is not a complaint, this suits me just fine. But it does make for a pleasant change of pace when I get to go with someone on one of my searches for inventory to a yard sale or church fundraiser. Pickin's more fun with a friend...I should make that into a bumper sticker.

Which means, I was more than happy when my Aunt Joan told me she'd found a few ads for church fundraisers north of us in the Abbotstown and Hanover areas, and would I like to check them out with her. So, right after the kids got on the bus Friday morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to her house - about 10-minutes from my own-- we jumped in her Yaris and made our way to the first sale, which was held in a picnic grove.

There were a lot of nice things, but many of them were priced too high for me to make any kind of profit. But I did find a couple cute items. My favorites are this owl coffee canister and a set of chenille bedspreads.

The next stop was a church fundraiser which had the opposite problems as the first, great prices but not much left on the tables. We didn't get there until 9:00 and the sale started at 7:00 - so it was picked pretty clean by the time we got there.









After a few more stops at a rummage sale (VERY picked over) and a yard sale (mostly newer plastic kid's toys), we went to a great book store/ cafe in Hanover - interestingly, also in an old church -- for lunch.

So Friday was both successful for my shop and I got the bonus of enjoying a morning out on a beautiful spring day in the company of my aunt, doing what seems to be in our blood.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/

Setting a Vintage Table

There really is something wrong with me. The other day I went shopping with friends and had a very nice day, but found myself uninterested in the merchandise at places I used to love, like the Pottery Barn and Pier One. I found myself picking up reproduction bowls, candle holders, glassware and plates, and not only being a little shocked at the prices, but staring at thirty of the same thing on the display - knowing there were even more exactly like them in the backroom.

They felt like fakes, impostors, and I couldn't help but wonder why I would want a fake when I have found so many unique, beautiful and quirky original vintage housewares at the thrift stores, yard sales and auction houses. And often for no more than the spare change in my pocket.

So for this blog I thought I would picture having a dinner party with some of the inventory from my etsy.com shop. I could serve in unique, retro style.

I'd first offer my guests some appetizers from this tiered tray, and then pour them a before dinner cocktail in these great gambling themed rocks glasses.

And then I would bring my company into the dining room to a candle lit table with my best shabby-chic china to serve dinner.

After dinner I could serve coffee and cake with these atomic ranch style snack set.

And don't even get me started on the roasting pans, bowls and enamelware pots I could make the dinner in...ooh, another blog.

Roaming the Countryside

A cool Saturday morning dawned with me rolling out of bed into my jeans and a sweatshirt, and then heading out to meet the other blond at the end of my driveway. She picked me up in her van which was filled with not only her mother, but daughter, daughter's boyfriend and her two sisters - that's a die-hard picker family! I love it!

We were a little bleary-eyed at the early hour, and not completely clear or organized in which direction to head...its been a long winter and now that yard sales, church fundraisers and neighborhood sales are popping up, we're so excited we want to head in three different directions at once.

But we focused and steered the van eastwards to a church sale in Brogue, PA. We didn't have high hopes as it was the second day of the sale and that usually means the best stuff is gone, but we decided to give it a shot. We were right about the picking - I found one serving dish and that was it -- but it was totally worth it anyway for the beautiful drive and one of the best apple pies (handmade by one of the church ladies) that I've ever had for our breakfast, along with a fresh brewed cup of coffee.

Next was a fundraiser sale back in York where there were a few more little bits of this and that to find. Picked up a necklace I later altered with a cabachon I made from a children's book illustration.

And then came the main object of our day out, we went to the 14th Anniversary sale at our local Salvation Army where everything in the store was 50% off. Mecca was reached, the van emptied and we all scattered to find our favorite areas of the store. I was particularly happy with a set of bar glasses and a set of china I found.

The company was great, the pickin' good and the apple pie yummy...a very good Saturday morning indeed.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Where ya been?

In my travels to find old stuff people want to buy, I come across a lot of interesting souvenirs. Some of it is more recent and not that interesting - plastic shot glasses, daiquiri glasses and key chains -- but the vintage pieces can be very nice.

I found two pieces from Cape Cod I really like. The paint on the glass has held up beautifully over the years and the napkin holder is just retro-fun.















I found these frosted Tennessee glasses at a thrift store.And these Florida Salt and Pepper shakers came from a yard sale last summer.
But the other blond's mom won for the best souvenir find with this great 1967 World's Fair glass in perfect condition...good one!


twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/

Impersonating the Easter Bunny

The thrift store shelves are full of pretenders, lairs, phonies, tricksters...false Easter Bunnies!

She thinks we'll be fooled by those big, brown eyes, but that's no bunny nose.
Can't believe this bear eating honey thinks slapping on a pair of big ears is going to fool anyone.


OK, the Cadbury Pig...I think not.
Wait, maybe this really is the Easter Bunny...no, just the other blond!

And it was good...

The other blond and I had a rocky start yesterday morning getting out bright and early to find a yard sale and then a church sale - family members in need of care, confusion with boys getting dropped for Boy Scout activities, mom stuff -- but in the end, we prevailed and headed out in the van to the nearby town of Red Lion.

But difficulties continued as the first place on our list was a moving sale, and when we drove by, we both thought it looked a little scary - broken plastic kids toys on the porch and questionable looking characters hanging out by the front door with cigarettes dangling from their mouths -- so we passed. We chose instead to regroup at the nearest Rutters and get a cup of coffee and breakfast sandwich and realign our picking karma.

And we did...the next stop was a church sale with, same as last week, a line going out across the parking lot with people hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation. And then the church lady unlocked the doors, the angels sang and the hoards moved in and tried not to trample her.

Much as last week, I had trouble focusing at first on what I was there to do - find neat stuff -- there were just so many people and things and pushing. But what helped was that about a minute and half after I got there, I spotted a very nice enamelware roasting pan with a stand, and once I had that in my bag I relaxed, the ice had been broken. If I didn't find anything else, I would have been happy with my morning. Who am I kidding, I was happy already just getting to poke around, even with the crowds.

The next thing I found took me back to my own childhood. In my grandparents attic - the perfect farmhouse attic with requisite trunks and stacks of old books and photo-albums -- where there was a box of marionettes. I think there was a Howdy Doody and a couple others, my cousin and I would play with them for hours. So when I saw this fortune teller marionette, I grabbed her and placed her in my bag without hesitation.

There was more squeezing past people, trying not to overheat in the crush and a very long line to wait in to pay for your purchases, but it was still worth it. Some really nice items. Even on my way out, only two-people away from the check-out table, I saw this great hand-tooled leather bag for under a dollar and added it to my arm-full of stuff.
So even though its hard sometimes to juggle the mom obligations with escaping for a few hours to hunt down neat old stuff, yesterday morning worked out just fine...and the kids are all still alive and accounted for...so we're good.